We have our work cut out for us in the coming years. The threats to critical affordable and supportive housing programs that serve the poorest households and those with disabilities are real and significant. Become involved in planning the 2018 Congressional Reception!

NJCounts 2019

All twenty-one New Jersey Counties will be counting individuals and families who were homeless – both sheltered and un-sheltered - on the night of Wednesday January 23, 2019.This annual census is conducted by networks of organizations, agencies and others that plan community efforts to end homelessness and is coordinated by Monarch Housing on the statewide level.

The goal of the second Annual Homeless Sabbath is to engage as many congregations of all faiths to include readings in their service(s) held on December 15th, 16th and 17th, 2017, at their respective house of worship. Click here to register online to participate.

“The next Congress must do what the current Congress has not: hold the administration accountable and ensure that low-income disaster survivors are provided with stable, affordable homes so they can recover,” states Diane. “It’s the least we can do for fellow Americans who have lost so much.”

WIC is a federal supplemental nutrition program for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5. WIC covers basic nutritional needs of infants and young children but is not adequate to cover all of a family’s nutritional needs, so families may also qualify to receive additional help from SNAP.

Unlike WIC, SNAP is a federal nutrition program open to all low-income families and individuals regardless of gender or age. In recent years, several states have begun to enroll eligible families in multiple programs like Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, housing assistance, and free or reduced-price lunch at the same time. This integration helps streamline bureaucracy for vulnerable low-income households.

“The results of this study reinforce that housing subsidies are a potent benefit for increasing housing security among low income families with young children,” write the study’s authors. “However, the combination of housing subsidies with nutrition benefits was most strongly associated with higher adjusted odds of housing security.”

The authors also found that the loss of housing subsidies, not surprisingly, was associated with increased housing insecurity even after adjusting for the receipt of SNAP benefits. What was surprising was the finding that the loss of SNAP benefits was also associated with increased housing insecurity, even after adjusting for the receipt of housing subsidies.

The study’s findings demonstrate that hunger policy is housing policy and that policymakers should work to pair housing assistance with nutrition benefits to improve housing security. To read more research on the connections between hunger and housing, please check out the Opportunity Starts at Home multi-sector affordable housing campaign’s online “Sector Page.”

Participate in Homeless Persons Memorial Day Vigil – attend the vigil and help remember our neighbors who died due to lack of housing and supportive services;

Engage – talk to your family, your neighbors, your co-workers and elected officials about homelessness in Union County and how we need to work together to end homelessness. To achieve that goal, we need to change the conversation and focus on the needs of our neighbors; and

Form a homeless ministry - Begin discussions that focus on what more your congregation can do to end homelessness.